Natural grass playing fields pose a greater concussion risk for young football players than artificial turf, a new study shows.
Three out of four police officers have experienced at least one concussion, increasing their risk of mental health issues, a new s...
Alix Popham played in two rugby World Cups and won a Six Nations Grand Slam before retiring in 2011 as a professional in the rough-and-tumble game.
Autopsies of deceased boxers and pro football players have long confirmed that repeat head injuries can lead to a devastating brain condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Now, research supports the notion that contact sports can also raise the odds fo...
A test used to gauge whether a college athlete has suffered a concussion is right only half the time and may be useless, new research finds.
The test used by the NCAA, which oversees college sports, measures an athlete's cognitive skills, and is one of three tests (symp...
The first all-civilian space mission is shedding light on the potential health risks facing private astronauts.
The takeaway: Short-duration spaceflights appear to pose none that are significant.
The study sample was small -- four people who spent three days in low...
About one in eight U.S. seniors will be treated for a traumatic brain injury, typically during a fall, a new study finds.
Medicare data shows that about 13% of seniors suffer...
Near-infrared light pulsing into a person's skull appears to boost healing in patients with a severe concussion, a new study finds...
Soldiers can suffer brain injury if they are repeatedly exposed to explosive blasts, a new study shows.
Further, the more frequently a soldier is exposed to explosions, the greater their risk for brain injury, researchers reported April 22 in the Proceedings of the N...
When a soldier is rushed to medical care following a blast or other injury to the head, time is crucial in deciding just how extensive that injury is.
Now, the U.S. Army has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared a bedside whole blood test that ...
Combat veterans who suffered traumatic brain injuries due to explosive blasts may have markers in their spinal fluid similar to those of Alzheimer's disease, new research finds.
"Previous research has shown that moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries may increase a ...
Kids struggling with mental health problems have a tougher time recovering from a concussion, a new study finds.
These troubled kids tend to have more emotional symptoms after
New technology might soon allow men in same-sex relationships to have a child genetically related to both dads, researchers say.
The technology uses skin cells from one person to alter the genetics of a donated egg, researchers reported March 8 in the journal
The perpetrator of a mass shooting in Maine last fall had extensive brain damage from "thousands of low-level blasts" tied to his work at an Army Reserve hand grenade training range, a new report shows.
On Oct. 25, Robert Card, 40, killed 18 and injured another 13 in a d...
Folks who've suffered a concussion and then develop headaches show iron accumulation in their brains, new research discovers.
Excess brain iron stores are a hallmark of damage, noted a team led by
A mental workout can speed teens' recovery from a concussion, especially if it takes place in the classroom.
New research shows that returning to school early after a concussion and limiting screen time help symptoms resolve sooner.
"Children and teens should be en...
It's long been thought that it takes more time for a woman to recover from a concussion than a man.
But a new national study of U.S. college athletes refutes that notion, finding that women and men recover from sports-related head injuries at about the same pace.
R...
Stroke patients often suffer from "spatial neglect" -- an inability to see things on the side of the body opposite to where the brain injury occurred.
Now, new research suggests that spatial neglect can also affect folks who've had a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
T...
Head injuries related to football might be tied to markers of dementia like brain shrinkage and decreased blood flow to the brain, a new study of former pro and college players reports.
The study lo...
Games like football, soccer and rugby come to mind when thinking about sports-related concussions.
But a smashing tennis shot could cause a traumatic brain injury if the ball whacks a player's head, a new study argues.
Concussions can happen if a tennis ball travel...
Gina Arata had a bright future, wrapping up college and preparing for law school, when a 2001 car wreck left her with lasting brain damage.
After her recovery, Arata wound up taking a job sorting mail, but struggled even in that.
"I couldn't remember anything,"said...
The repeat head injuries suffered by football players, boxers and other athletes appear to affect brain health long after players have given up their sport.
New research from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore could explain why: The persistence in the brain of inflamm...
Evidence that soccer heading -- where players use their heads to strike a ball -- is dangerous continues to mount.
Research to be presented at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting in Chicago on Tuesday points to a measurable decline in brain st...
Four of every 10 American seniors who suffer a fall and end up in the ER with head trauma get no follow-up care once they go home, a new study finds.
"Only 59 percent of our study subjects had follow-up with their [health care] provider," study senior author
A year after suffering a concussion, teens, especially boys, are more likely than their peers to think about, plan and even attempt suicide, new research finds.
With more concussions, the risk grows.
Teen boys who reported two or more concussions in the past year w...
Use of steroids among high school athletes is a continuing problem, and now new research finds these youths are also more likely to suffer a concussion while they play.
Women are more likely to develop depression after suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI), a new study shows.
The analysis of nine published studies included nearly 700,000 people and found that the risk for depression among women after a TBI was nearly 50% higher than...
Former pro football players with symptoms of depression or anxiety are far more likely to receive an unverifiable diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) than players without those mental health conditions, a new study reports.
Players with depression are 9.5...
While the neurological impact of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) has long been studied, new research suggests TBIs are also hard on the heart.
The research team took a closer look at connections between the two organs, finding that nervous system dysfunction, neuro-infla...
Any head injury -- even a mild one -- raises a person's risk of later having an ischemic stroke.
Having multiple injuries increases that risk, even more so than the severity of a single traumatic brain injury (TBI), researchers report.
"Our study found that those ...
Your thinking and memory skills may take a hit decades after recovering from a concussion, a new study indicates.
Scientists who studied male twins, from an average age of 67, found that earlier concussions were tied to lower scores on tests of thinking and memory....
The two "freezing" episodes that Sen. Mitch McConnell experienced recently weren't strokes or seizures, the Capitol physician said in a new letter released Tuesday.
"My examination of you following yo...
After Sen. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell froze for the second time during a Wednesday briefing in Kentucky, Congress' attending physician has cleared him to continue working.
The degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) may be striking some at much younger ages than thought possible: New research has uncovered early signs of the condition in amateur athletes who died young after playing contact sports.
The tr...
Suicide has become an urgent issue among American military veterans, with rates increasing by more than 10 times in nearly two decades, a new study reveals.
"Suicide rates for post-9/11 veterans have steadily increased over the last 15 years and at a much faster pace tha...
The link between pro football and the risk for a neurodegenerative disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is well known, and now a new study suggests that football may also up the risk for Parkinson's disease, even among past high school and college players.
...If your child has ever taken a knock to the head on the playing field, a new study has some reassuring news: There's no evidence that a concussion shaves points from a kid's IQ.
Researchers found that compared with children and teens who'd suffered broken bones or sprain...
Depression that arises after a head injury may be its own distinct condition -- one that differs from traditional major depressive disorder, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that people with post-concussion depression showed a unique pattern of activity in the bra...
Heather Anderson, a star Australian rules football player who died last November, is the first female professional athlete to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
"She is the first female athlete diagnosed with CTE, but she will not be the last," ...
Autopsy is currently the only way to definitively diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease often seen in athletes who've suffered repeated blows to the head.
But there may be a way to predict which athletes are likely to develop CTE, ...
Obesity is a known contributor to a host of health risks ranging from diabetes to cancer, but new research suggests it may also delay recovery from a mild traumatic brain injury.
Why? The systemic inflammation that being obese can cause in the body may be a driving facto...
The number and strength of head impacts, not concussions, cause degenerative brain injuries to football players, a new study suggests.
That's what appears to drive the growing number of cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), researchers say.
Chronic traum...
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can have long-term effects, much like a chronic condition, a new study says.
Looking at hundreds of patients, researchers found that problems related to traumatic brain injuries can last for years, with people improving and declining at dif...
Gymnasts make it look easy, but mastering those floor exercises and balance beam moves can take a toll on the brain.
Researchers studying preseason and regular season concussion rates in college sports found that women's gymnastics led all others for its concussion rate ...
Limited "heading" of a soccer ball in youth sports may not cause irreversible harm, as long as players are properly trained, a new study finds.
This study from concussion researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) looked at the consequences of repeated he...
A new brain bank is accepting future donations from living athletes, in an effort to perform long-term research into the effects of sports-related concussion.
A significant number of patients take far longer to recover from a concussion than expected, and they may not be getting the care they need, according to a new study.
Researchers from the United Kingdom who studied concussion patients found that almost half had changes i...
Sen. Mitch McConnell is back home more than two weeks after he fell at a private dinner and was hospitalized with a concussion and broken rib.
The Senate Minority Leader spent five days in the hospital and the remainder of the 2-1/2 weeks following his fall in inpatient...
It's well-established that American football players can suffer significant brain impacts as they age.
Now, new research shows that elite European soccer players are also more likely than the average person to develop dementia.
Men in the Swedish top soccer divisio...
While older women are treated for falls more often than elderly males, men are more likely to sustain skull fractures when they topple over, new research suggests.
This is a serious concern because more than 3 million people aged 65 and older are treated in U.S. emergenc...